5 Hair Grooming Things You’re Probably Doing Wrong

Celebrity stylist Jason Schneidman elucidates your mane mistakes.

When it comes to general men’s hair grooming, no one is more honest—and surprising—than Jason Schneidman, a.k.a. “The Men’s Groomer.”

This guy is legit. Why else would Rob Lowe, Bruno Mars, Hugh Jackman, Ron Pearlman, Owen Wilson, Jonah Hill, James Corden and other hugely different but sharp-looking dudes submit their locks to his steady, scissors-wielding hand?

We could have asked Schneidman what guys should do when it comes to looking good, but we’ve witnessed so many follicle follies that we decided to ask the opposite. So sit tight, read on, and drop the following bad habits like some jerk trying to sell you a Suck Kut.

Use a hair dryer to make your hair as crazy as possible—go for the Einstein look. Then, when it’s all dry, use a pomade to control it, pat it down and style it just how you want.

1. Fearing hair gel.
After decades of abuse, hair gel has become a symbol of bad New Jersey spike cuts and cheesy ’80s slick-backs. But Schneidman implores men to give it another try—in a way you never considered. When your hair is still wet after a shower, before you towel dry, give yourself a little dollop of hair gel (Jason hooked us up with some Dove Men+ Care Fortifying Gel, which plays well with a hair dryer). Let it sit as you dry off, and then towel dry from there. When you go to blow dry and style your hair, it’ll be much more compliant, full of body and ready to take on whatever look you’re pursuing. Think of it as primer.

2. Rocking the chinstrap.It’s true—beards are nature’s plastic surgery for men. We love beards here at Made Man. A lot. But some guys are getting too cute with their beard trimming, and Jason suggests they stop. “Go for a more natural look on the neck,” he suggests. When we asked him about the dreaded neckbeard, he suggested occasionally using a trimmer to bring things down a bit, but never go for that hard neck-to-beard transition. He argues that it looks fake, looks bad and isn’t fooling anyone.

3 Applying paste to wet hair.When your apply paste to wet hair, you’re completely undermining the point of the product. Pastes are designed to control and work with dry hair, and applying it to wet hair renders it into, essentially, a gel. If you’re going for that wet look, don’t bother with paste. You’re wasting your time.

4. Mushing your hair down in the morning.A lot of guys think the way to control your hair in the morning is to apply product and mash it down to your skull, then try to make it stand up. Flip that script. Going back to the gel point above, use a hair dryer to make your hair as crazy as possible—go for the Einstein look. Then, when it’s all dry, use a pomade to control it, pat it down and style it just how you want.

5. Washing your hair every day.Women have known this for years, but men are way behind. If you’re washing your hair every day, you’re doing it too much. You’ll end up with a dry scalp, hair that’s hard to control and hair that just looks abused. The natural oils in your hair are good. If you find your hair gets too oily, you can use a dry shampoo, which is basically baby powder. Either way, Jason warns, stop washing your damn hair so much!